1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of controlling a robot for automatically driving a motorcar in a simulation of car travel in which a driving wheel of the car is placed on a roller of a chassis dynamometer. With the car on the chassis dynamometer, dynamic performance tests of the motorcar can be conducted within a room.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A simulation of actual car travel driving by means of a chassis dynamometer has been used for dynamic performance testing of motorcars. Recently a motorcar driving robot (hereinafter referred to as a robot) adapted to individually drive a plurality of actuators by use of, for example, oil pressure, air pressure, DC servo motors, and the like, conducting stepping operations of an accelerator pedal, brake pedal, clutch pedal and the like of the automobile, as well as changeovers of a gear-change lever, has been used in such simulations of actual car travel driving. Thus, when car travel is referred to herein, the reader will understand that operation of the car on a chassis dynamometer is referred to, and not actual travel of the car as on a roadway.
In order to make a motorcar to be tested travel in a previously appointed travelling pattern by means of such a conventional driving simulation robot, the actuators operating the pedals and gear-change lever have been fixedly mounted on a chassis and then operating conditions of the respective pedals and gear-change lever have been manually produced, operating quantities and coordinates for operating the respective pedals and gear-change lever having been memorized by the driving simulation robot, and the respective actuators having been controlled by the use of such coordinates during a test driving.
However, in the above described conventional robot, the actuators are provided on a driver's seat of the motorcar by means of a suitable support member so as to face to the respective pedals and gear-change lever of the motorcar but shifts in position and disturbances in posture due to, for example, a vibration of the chassis, a catching of the gear-change lever during the operation, an over-stepping of the pedals, and the like, occur during such test driving and thus the respective actuators are shifted from the original positions thereof according to circumstances.
If the actuators are shifted in position in the above described manner, differences are produced between the memorized coordinates and the actual coordinates needed for operation of the clutch, brake, accelerator, and gear-change lever. Thus, the operating quantities of the actuators to be operated become unsuitable, whereby for example, suitable acceleration and deceleration and a changing-over operation of clutch and gear-change lever cannot be achieved well, or gears cannot be engaged due to a poor moving quantity of the gear-change lever. That is, the control of the motor car for it to achieve the appointed traveling pattern cannot be suitably achieved, and as a result a great hindrance is caused in the test travel.